Flemish Giant vs. Smaller Breeds?

[Kayota]

There aren't any rescues willing to adopt a bunny to me around here because my landlord literally won't answer his phone :\ so I'm attending a rabbit sale in November and I'm very interested in Flemish Giants, which they'll definitely have. My question is mostly what are the pros and cons of a Flemish Giant vs. smaller breeds? Are there any other breeds on the larger end that aren't quite as big that I could consider? And how do smaller rabbits feel about giant breeds?

[CheriB603]

Flemmies are more like puppies. They are generally very friendly, lazy people lovers. They can jump HIGH, so unless you will give it free roam of your house , don’t try to block it in. And they eat A LOT!!!!’ My husband says it’s like living with a kangaroo!

[Kayota]

Yeah they seem so sweet! I’m guessing I’d have to modify my current setup if I got a Flemmie… I know Mako COULD jump the gates if she wanted to but she doesn’t even know she can jump on a cardboard box right now lmao. I guess it’s only a matter of time before I have to add some height, especially if my next bun is a jumper.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Flemmies look so sweet and cuddly. They seem very laid back. While I’ve never had a large breed, the main con, IMO, would be that they have a shorter life span than the smaller breeds. We’ve seen here at BB, quite a few Flemmies who have had serious problems with abcesses. But of course, the small breeds can have lots of problems too, so I guess that’s not much to go on.

[MoveDiagonally]

Flemmies need a lot more space than smaller rabbits. They really don’t do well caged so it’s recommended that they be mostly free range. The smallest pen recommended would be 4′ X 4′ with the majority of their time being spent in a larger area. If a Flemish is going to be penned up for longer amounts of time then then 4′ X 8′ would be more appropriate.

I would realistically consider whether you have the time/space for a Flemish Giant. Not having enough space is actually why I do not have one.

[CheriB603]

I have 2 Flemmies. My last bun was a Flemmie. My bun before that was a little Silver Marten. Take it from me – Flemmies require a HUGE amount of space! I have a 2 story cape and they use every inch of it! They especially love zooming up & down the carpeted stairs. Since they don ‘t go outside, running on the stairs lets them stretch out their legs and get lots of exercise that they need. And baby gates are useless. Mine could jump 5 feet over it.

Really think if you have enough room.

[Stickerbunny]

Another thing to consider is with your current bun and a new one, you cannot put them together until after they bond. So, where you are housing your current one isn’t a realistic area for the flemmie to be for probably a few months, few weeks at least. You’ll need space to house them separately with a neutral area for bonding.

[Eepster]

Bunnies come in a huge range of sizes between flemish giant and netherland dwarf. There are many large breeds that are slightly smaller than flemmie, such as the english lop. There are medium large sized bunnies too, such as angoras.

I recommend googling “rabbit breeds” and comparing sizes.

[Beka27]

You might also consider New Zealands (about 8-12 pounds) or standard rexes (about 8 pounds). You can have a large rabbit without getting a giant breed.

I love flemmies, but sadly I don’t think I would get one because of the higher risk of congenital health issues. You’re looking at a rabbit with a much shorter lifespan, and higher vet costs over his/her lifetime.

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